Kontsumobide has opened a call for subsidies of 1.2 million euros for municipalities

Kontsumobide-Instituto Vasco de Consumo has opened subsidies to promote and defend consumer rights, aimed at local entities in the Basque Country. A resolution signed on 3 August 2026 by Ana María Sánchez Herráez, Director of Kontsumobide, approved the regulatory bases and the call, which was published under number 2026/3626 in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), issue 155, on 17 August 2026.

Why these grants have been created

Kontsumobide is the body of the Basque Government that regulates consumer protection, established by Law 9/2007. Its main function is to work in collaboration with local administrations to guarantee consumer rights. To this end, Article 4.1.j) empowers it to promote municipal consumer offices (OMICs) and to share technical resources.

Furthermore, Law 4/2023 (the Consumer and User Statute) establishes in Article 54 that Kontsumobide must create and promote municipal consumer offices. Likewise, Article 6 recognises the powers of municipalities in the defence and protection of consumers, and Law 2/2016 (the Local Institutions Law of the Basque Country) guarantees these powers based on local autonomy.

The 2026 financial year has been designed as a transitional year, with the aim of building a coordinated and collaborative network. That is, with the intention of strengthening consumer care, coordination, technical support, methodology and capacity-building activities will be combined.

Three subsidy lines and amounts

The call allocates a total of €1,208,368, within the General Budgets approved by Law 7/2025 (of 23 December 2025). This amount is divided into three lines:

• Line 1: Operating costs of OMICs and consumer information and training activities. Total of €1,114,368 (2026: €835,776; 2027: €278,592). This includes premises rental, staff costs, expert appraisals, maintenance, campaigns, publications and IT equipment.
• Line 2: Consumer inspection activities. Total of €84,000 (2026: €63,000; 2027: €21,000). Aimed at entities participating in campaigns and the Alert Network with Kontsumobide.
• Line 3: Creation, modernisation and functional improvement of OMICs. Total of €10,000 (2026: €7,500; 2027: €2,500). It finances computer systems, technological elements and the adaptation of spaces.

When and how to apply

Applications must be submitted electronically, and the deadline is one month from publication in the BOPV; therefore, the final day is 17 September 2026. Applicants may submit in Basque or Spanish, at their discretion, and processing will be carried out through the Kontsumonet application.

Payment will be made in two instalments: first, 75% of the amount granted; second, in 2027, after the supporting documentation has been submitted. The supporting documentation must be submitted before 31 March 2027.

Who can participate and how much they will receive

The beneficiaries are local entities from the historical territories of the Basque Country, individually or through service boards, as well as entities promoted by them, provided they have an OMIC service. The maximum amount each entity may receive:

• Line 1: €63,000.
• Line 2: €26,250.
• Line 3: €5,000.

Likewise, the grants may not exceed 70% of the approved budget. Depending on population, the maximum budgets for line 1 are as follows: €20,000 for municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants; €30,000 for those between 5,001 and 10,000; €40,000 for those between 10,001 and 15,000; €50,000 for those between 15,001 and 20,000; €60,000 for those between 20,001 and 30,000; €75,000 for those between 30,001 and 40,000; €90,000 for those between 40,001 and 50,000; €120,000 for those between 50,001 and 75,000; €150,000 for those between 75,001 and 100,000; and €200,000 for those with more than 100,000.

Evaluation criteria and committee

The grants will be awarded through competitive distribution, and the assessment will be out of a maximum of 70 points for lines 1 and 3, and 40 points for line 2. The most important criteria:

• Number of complaints handled through Kontsumonet in 2025 (up to 30 points).
• Consultations handled in 2025 (up to 20 points).
• Having an online complaint submission system (10 points).
• Consumer activities: information, education and promoting the arbitration system (up to 10 points).
• Line 2: inspection reports for 2025 (up to 40 points).

The evaluation committee will be chaired by the head of the Complaints, Mediation and Arbitration Unit, and will be made up of a representative from EUDEL (Association of Basque Municipalities), a consumer technical officer and an advisor from the General Services Unit.

Source: Boletín Oficial del País Vasco, No. 155, 17 August 2026, Other Provisions, pp. 1-14 (official reference: 2026/3626).